willans



( del.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

P. W. WILLANS.

ELECTRIC GOVERNOR FOR CONTROLLING STEAM ENGINES.

No. 329,112. Patented Oct. 27, 1885.

2, f Ii 6 N. PETERS. Pholo-Lifhcgriwu, mpon. me.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. P. W. WILLANS.

ELECTRIC GOVERNOR FOR CONTROLLING STEAM ENGINES. No. 329,112. Patented Oct. 27, 1885.

UNITED STATES PATENT UEETQE.

rErEn WILLIAM wILLANs, OF THAMES DITTON, ooUN'rYoE sUnnEY, ENGLAND.

ELECTRIC GOVERNOR FOR CONTROLLING STEAM-ENGINES.

QPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 329,112, dated October 27,1885.

Application filed February 20,1885. Serial No. 156,538. (No model.) Patented in England March 5, 1883, No. 1,184, and November 8, 1883, No. 5,291.

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, PETER WILLIAM WIL- LANS, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Thames Ditton, in the county of Surrey, England, engineer, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Governors for Controlling Steam-Engines or other motors and for other uses, (for which I have received Letters Patent in Great Britain, No. 1,184, dated March 5, 1883, and No. 5,291, dated November 8, 1888,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object improvements in electric governors for controlling steam-engines or other motors; and it is especially applicable to steam-engines driving dynamos to maintain 'a current for electric lighting or for the transmission of power, and in such cases the object is to regulate the motor to the speed requisite to maintain a uniform current in a circuit or a uniform difference of potential between two points in a circuit; but my governors are applicable, also, where the object is to regulate the engine to a uniform speed, and where a small dynamo or current generator is driven by the engine with the sole or main object of serving the governor.

In my governor a solenoid is employed, and through its coils the current or a part of the current generated by the revolution of the steam or other engine is caused to pass. This current by the operation of the governor is maintained nearly constant. The core of the solenoid is suspended by aspring,or its equiva lent, and when the current slightly increases it is drawn farther into the coil,while, on the other hand, when the current decreases it is partially withdrawn from the coil by the preponderance of the spring.

Also, in my governor a relay is employed. The governing-solenoid itself cannot exert the power requisite to move the throttle-valve of an engine, or to move the link or other part by which the regulation of the engine is directly effected, but by the operation of the relay, power from another source is brought to bear. It is frequently very convenient to employ a relay by which hydraulic pressure is applied to produce the movement required.

In other cases the power applied may be de- V rived from the electric current.

It is essential that every movement of the governing-solenoid should result in a propor tional movement of the throttle-valve, or other part by which the regulation of the engine is directly effected, and that for every position taken up by the governing-solenoid there should be a corresponding position of the throttle-valve or other regulating part. This is brought about by providing in the relay two instruments or parts so related that the activity of the relay depends on the disturbance of the normal position or relation of these parts. One of the parts is connected (directly or indirectly) with the governing-solenoid, and moves with it, the other is (directly or indirectly) connected with the throttle-valve or other regulating part,and moves with it. Thus when the movement of the governing-solenoid disturbs the normal relation of the parts of the relay by moving one of them, the power of the relay is exerted to shift the throttlevalve or other regulating part, and when this moves it carries with it the other part of the relay, and so restores the normal relation of the parts of the relay, and the movement ceases. This takes place in whichever direction the original departure from the normal position was made.

If a fluid-relay be used,the related parts may be a slidevalve connected with the solenoid and a part in which are the valve-ports, this latter part being connected with the throttlevalve or regulating mechanism of the engine. The solenoid disturbs the normal relation by moving the valve in such manner as to uncover the ports. The normal relation is restored by the movement of the throttlevalve or regulating part bringing back the valve-ports to the valve. In the result the movement of the throttle-valve or regulating part is always proportional to that of the solenoid by which it is brought about.

I have spoken so far of the two related parts of the relay being both movable; but it is an obvious mechanical equivalent to per mit one of them to remain stationary while the other is connected with both the solenoid and the throttle-valve or other regulating part of the engine or motor,so as to be moved by both, but in directions such that the movement imparted by the one compensates the movement imparted by the other.

I will now describe more in detail the governor, constructed in the manner which is most usually convenient and with a hydraulic relay.

The governor consists of a solenoid, through the coils of which the electric current flows. WVithin this solenoid there is a core suspended by ahelical spring. The core is connected by a rod to an equilibrium-valve which is con tained within the hollow rod of a piston work ing in a hydraulic cylinder. From this piston-rod there is again suspended a double-piston throttle-valve regulating the flow of steam or other fluid to the motor.

The equilibrium-valve mentioned above consists of a tube with two pistons upon it, and water is admitted, as hereinafter described, to the spaces between these pistons, and the valve controls the passage of the water to and from the hydraulic cylinder.

In order that the valve may move with but little friction, each of the valvepistons is reduced to a pair of I disks or flanges upon the cylindrical body of the valve. It is only at its upper and lower ends that each piston comes into contact with the hollow piston-rod within which it works.

The throttle-valve connected with the hydraulic piston takes the form oi a double piston working in a cylinder.

The inlet for the steam or fluid passing to the motor is by passages through the walls of this cylinder, and so it enters the space between the two parts of the double-piston valve. From thence it escapes by apertures in the pistons, and so passes on by the open ends of the valve-cylinder to the steam or feed pipe of the motor. In its mean working position the upper piston ot' the throttle-valve partially covers the passages by which the steam enters the valve-cylinder. If the current through the coils of the solenoid should increase, the throttlevalve descends, thereby closing the steam-admission passages to a greater extent. 011 the other hand, should the current become less, the throttle-valve is raised, and the passages for the admission of steam to the motor will be wider opened, whereby the speed of the motor will be increased, the dynamo will be driven at a higher speed, and the falling off in current will be compensated. It, however, the current in the circuit should more or less completely fail, as would result from the breakage of the circuit-wire, then, in place of the ports being wider opened for the ad mission of steam to the motor, these ports are entirely closed. This is effected by the lower portion of the double piston of the throttle valve, which by the higher rise of the solenoideore, and consequently of the throttlevalve, is caused to cover the ports in the throttle-valve cylinder. There is only one position of the throttle-valve in which it allows fully steam to pass to the motor. If from this po sition the throttle-valve descends, the ports are partially closed by the upper piston of the throttle-valve. If, on the other hand, the throttle rises fro 1n this position, thenagain the ports are closed by the lower piston ot' the valve.

I11 order that my said invention may be most fully understood and readily carried into effeet, I will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.

The drawing Figure 1 shows avertical section of a governor constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 1 shows to a larger scale some of the parts also represented in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows a modification.

a is the cylindrical coil or bobbin of the solenoid through which the current to be regulated passes. The bobbin a surrounds a brass tube, 1), which forms a part of the frame of the apparatus. For the purpose of adjustment the coil a can be moved a short distance longitudinally upon the tube 1) by means of the adjusting-screws 0.

At the upper end of the tube 1) there is a cover, 0, through which a screw stem, (1, passes. The stem (1 serves for the suspension of the helical spring (I, and by the nut d the point of suspension can be raised or lowered.

c is the solenoid-core. It is cylindrical and of soft iron. It is shown as a hollow core,the spring (I passing down within it to a hook at its lower end. The stem of the hook is screwed into the closed end of the core and a rod, f, is connected to it. The .rodf serves to suspend the hydraulic equilibrium valve 9. This valve is contained within the hollow red h of the hydraulic piston 71.. The upper end of the hollow red It, into which the rod f enters, serves as the outlet for the water from the hydraulic cylinder, and it is conveniently arranged so that the water may be led away by a flexible pipe attached at the nozzle Zr.

iis the hydraulic cylinder, and i the entrance for the water under pressure, which serves to give movement to the throttle-valve. This water passes through the side of the cylinder into the cavity h inclosed between the two ends of the piston h and the walls of the cylinder. From this cavity the water passes by radial passages to the cavity of the valve between the two valve-pistons.

and g" are respectively the upper and the lower valve-pistons. Each of them, as will be seen, consists simply of a pair of rings or flanges upon the tubular body of the valve. The construction of the valve-pistons in this manner is important, for if the pistons were cylindrical from top to bottom the friction of the valve in moving would be very much greater. In the position in which the valve is represented in the drawings the upper piston is covering the ports 71/ in the side of the red It, and the lower piston is similarly covering ports h in the side of the red. It the valve be lowered,the ports h" and it will both be opened. Water will then be able to flow IIO from the central cavity of the valve through the ports h to the upper side of the piston, and also from the under side of the piston through the ports 72 and so to the outlet at 7L2. If the valve g be raised, the action is in all respects similar, except that new water passes from the central cavity of the valve by the ports h" to the under side of the cylinder, and escapes from the upper side of the piston by the ports h to the outlet at If, the piston consequently rising. The throttle valve consisting of the pistons k partakes of the movements of the hydraulic piston 71, with which through its rod it is connected.

Zis the cylinder of the throttle-valve. It has steam-inlets Z Z in its sides, by which the steam enters between the pistons 70 It. The

steam passes through apertures in these pistons and so to the passage at leading to the motor; or the direction of the flow of the steam may be reversed, it may enter the throttlevalve cylinder at the ends and escape by the apertures in the sides.

The valve as shown in the drawings is full open, which is higher than the mean working position. The increase of current in the circuit, causing the solenoid-core to be drawn down,will decrease the opening of the ports of the throttle-valve. Similarly, when the valve is near the mean working position the rise of the solenoid-core will increase the opening of the ports; but if the current should wholly fail the piston k will rise sufficiently high to entirely close the ports, and the motor driving the dynamo will consequently be stopped in time to prevent injury to the mechanism, which otherwise might probably result.

Fig. 2 illustrates the mechanically-equivalent arrangement in which the valve-ports are fixed and the valve moved both by the solenoid and the throttle-valve. In the arrangement shown in this figure the rodf, descending from the solenoid, is not directly connected with the hydraulic valve, but to a lever, W, and the valve, which is contained within the case V, is actuated from one end of the lever. The valve and passages are as in the previous figure, except that the passages are not in the piston. They lead to the two ends of the cylinder t',and this contains a plain piston attached to a rod passing out through the lower cover.

The piston-rod is by a link connected with an arm, X, on an axis, Y, by which a throttle-valve may be worked in any convenient manner. Z is a rod connecting a crank on the axis Y with the end of the lever \V opposite to and which'is directly connected with the valve. As already described, the solenoid gives movement to the valve, causing thereby movement of the piston in the cylinder i and of the axis Y and throttle-valve connected therewith. This movement is then imparted to the rod Z and lever W, and operates to bring back the valve to its normal position.

Fig. 2 is suitable for purposes where a long stroke of the regulating mechanism is desirable, for it admits of any-suitable stroke for the relay piston without a corresponding travel of the solenoid-core.

The governor hereinbefore described is es pecially applicable for the control of engines driving dynamo-machines for electric lighting or other purpose where the power of the motor is entirely applied to the generation of electricity; but it can also be employed usefully in cases where much of the power of the motor is applied to mechanical work, and,

indeed, in cases where the dynamo is of small dimensions and is employed solely to generate an electric current to operate the gov ernor. Under these conditions the governor will keep the engine to a constant speed so long as the resistance remains constant in the circuit of which the solenoid forms a part.

It is not essential that the governor should be arranged vertically. This is usually convenient, but, nevertheless, it may be other wise, and by slight modification it may be adapted to work in a horizontal position.

The invention is obviously not limited in its broadest sense to the use of a hydraulic or other special kind of relay.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. The combination,in an electric governor, of the solenoid or electric governing device, the throttle-valve or other regulating part of the motor, the interposed relay, said relay consisting, primarily, of two related parts, mechanism whereby the movements of the solenoid bring about the proportional movements of the throttle-valve, and mechanism by which the two related parts of the relay are automatically restored to their normal condition at each movement of the throttlevalve.

2. The combination, in an electric governor, of the solenoid, the throttle-valve or other regulating part of the motor, and the interposed relay, said relay having two related parts, one being stationary and the other movable, and. connected with the throttlevalve and with the solenoid, whereby the movements produced by the solenoid bring about proportional movements of the throttlevalve, which in turn restores the normal relation of said two related parts of the relay, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the solenoid, the hydraulic cylinder, the hydraulic piston, the throttle-valve connected with the hydraulic piston,'and the sliding valve in the hydraulic piston connected with the solenoid.

4. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the solenoid or electric governing device, the throttle-valve, a connection between the solenoid and the relay, a connection between the throttle-valve and the relay by which the throttle-valve is moved, and a connection between the throttle-valve and relay by which the relay is restored to its normal condition after each movement of the throttle-valve.

5. The coinbinntionfin an electric governor, of the regulating electric circuit and deviees, of the cylinder, the piston, the inlet and discharge openings therein, the valve having the two annular piston-heads on eneh end, for the purpose specified, and the regulated engine or motor.

6. The combination of the throttle vnlve, the relay to which the valve is connected, and the solenoid having a longitndinnlly-adjnstztble coil and a sliding core connected with the relay.

7. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the electric coil for operating the relay, the relay, the double piston throttle valve, and its casing and steznn-pnssnges.

PETER \VlLLIAM XVILLANS.

v itnessesz Gno. J. B. FRANKLIN, JNO. DEAN, GIFT/7C8 10 llfcssrs. Scormwh Harris, Notaries Pub- Zic, 17 Gracecluu'ch Street, London, E. 0. 

